Trail Name: Rotweinpfad
Trail Type: Short distance circuit trail; well-maintained and almost exclusively paved, good marking on the trail.
Length:
Total – 3.8 kilometers/2.3 miles
Convenient to: Baden-Baden, Germany
Marking:
Purple grapes with a green leaves on a white (or yellow) background
What I Learned
Sasbachwalden is a small town in the Ortenau wine district of the Baden wine region of southwest Germany. It is bounded by the Black Forest heights to its east, and the river plain of the Rhine to the west. The town has approximately 266 hectares of vineyard, and along with active tourism, is a mainstay of the local economy.
Alde Gott is the name of a specific vineyard area in and around the towns of Sasbachwalden, Sasbach, Lauf and Achern. The soils are of granite and gneiss. The terrain itself is quite hilly, with several natural bowl-like formations. The steep-sided slopes ensure good drainage in this otherwise wet area. They can get up to 1500 millimeters of rain a year. To ensure maximum sun exposure, the vine-bearing slopes face primarily south and west.
Trail Name: Alde Gott Panoramaweg
Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit on tarmac, grass or hardpacked surfaces; well maintained, and very well marked.
Length: 9.8 kilometers/ 6 miles
Convenient to: Karlsruhe or Baden-Baden, Germany
Marking: Red background, white lettering of the trail name, often on a white metal arrow.
Durbach is the name of a quiet village set among the hills of the Ortenau wine district in Germany.
This village, on the edge of the famous Black Forest, attracts active vacationers who enjoy being outdoors. Dark green woods, bright green vineyards, and tufts of wildflowers set against contrasting shades of green, or bright blue sky, form a large part of this summertime color palette. Snaking through it, in shades of red or white, are thin paths leading upward. They combine, in a variety of ways, to form sections of the numerous hiking trails crisscrossing this hilly landscape. Hikers wishing to take advantage of them will need to stay for several days to explore them all!
What I Learned
The Ortenau is a district in Germany’s Baden wine region. This district lies on an undulating landscape, in bucolic countryside, punctuated by picturesque wine villages. Durbach is one of these villages, renowned for its excellent vineyards, and justly famed for the quality of its wines. Ridgelines here are less lines, than semi-circles, creating several small natural bowls with steep sides. Most of the growths have ideal exposure to the sun. Additionally, these bowls protect the grape-bearing slopes from too much wind. The climate here is exceptionally mild and sunny in summer. In short, this is one of the best areas for growing grapes in Baden.
Trail Name: Durbacher Weinpanorama Weg
Trail Type: Medium distance circuit; tarmac or hard-packed (albeit some loose gravel here and there), well maintained, fairly well-marked, albeit not always easy to see. (Also see comments below.)
Length: total: 16 kilometers / 10 miles
Convenient to: Offenburg, Germany; Strasbourg, France
Marking: Signs with white letters spelling “Durbacher Weinpanorama”
“Rebland” marks the start of Ortenau’s “grape-land” south and west of Baden-Baden. This is wonderful vineyard country. From the villages of Varnhalt to Steinbach to Neuweier are some of the well-known named vineyards ranged along (usually) sunny slopes: the Altenberg, Sommerhalde, and Klosterbergfelsen by Varnhalt, the Stich den Buben by Steinbach/Umweg, and the Mauerberg and Goldenes Loch in Neuweier.
The Nellenberg is the hill rising above Varnhalt. Covered with vines, this great little town is famous locally for its wine. Rising above the Nellenberg is Yberg mountain, crowned by a castle, which has astounding and far-ranging views of this part of the Rhine River Valley. Around the other side of these hills is Neuweier, with its palace and famous vineyards.
What I Learned
Within Baden’s Ortenau wine district, there are several distinct wine areas. One of these is known as Rebland (literally, grape-land), located just south of the famous spa town of Baden-Baden, and north of Buhlertal. The steep hills offer a nice western and sometimes southerly exposure. These hills, which protect the grape-bearing slopes from too much wind, and the relatively mild and sunny climate, make this one of the best areas for growing grapes in Germany.
Somewhere between Sasbachwalden and Kappelrodeck on the Ortenauer Weinpfad, a sense of enchantment steals over the landscape. The early morning fog, sometimes all-enshrouding, sometimes like wisps of steam from simmering cauldrons, rises from still pools, or solitary copses, magically parting of its own accord to reveal a landscape seemingly suspended in a long-ago time. Such is this region of the Black Forest.
